Here is the report from Debbie Preece, who lives in Huntsville and who worked fulltime for the church for about 10 years. Preece certainly knows of all the controversy surrounding the charismatic and energetic minister, but she also knows the blessings of living a disciplined religious life.

Here is her report from her trip to the ceremony, which was held in South Korea --

Debbie Preece, at center, meets with friends she knew more than a quarter century ago when all three volunteered fulltime for the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. Priscilla, on the left, now lives in Nashville and is still married to the Japanese man that Rev. Moon matched her with. Together, they have raised five children. Genny, on the right, was born in Haiti and joined the church in New York City. She is still married to the French man that Rev. Moon matched her with 27 years ago and lives in Paris. Moon preached the importance of the unification of all races, cultures and religions. (Courtesy of Debbie Preece)

Name: Debbie Preece, member of the Unification Church of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who died Sept. 3, 2012.

Local place of worship in Huntsville:Unity Church on the Mountain, 1328 Governors Drive (A Unity congregation, which is not part of the Unification Church. The Unification Church celebrates the validity of all denominations).

More than 30,000 people, with another 20,000 outside, came to the World Peace Center of the Unification Church in Cheong Pyeong Lake, Korea, for the Sept. 15, 2012, ceremony honoring the life and ministry of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who died Sept. 3. (Courtesy of Debbie Preece)

Impressions: When I arrived for the Ceremony at the World Peace Center, I was shocked by the enormous number of people attending the event.

The World Peace Center, which holds 30,000 people, was totally packed. In addition, there were probably another 20,000 people outside.

Many came from different parts of the world, with approximately 1,200 coming from the U.S.

In addition to all those present at the ceremony, thousands of people had visited earlier. In all, people came from 192 countries, a measure of the worldwide reach of the Unification Church.

All told, more than 200,000 people came from all over the world to pay their respects to the Rev. Moon and his family. Through this experience of being with so many thousands of like-minded people as myself, I realized what a huge impact Rev. Moon had made.

Debbie Preece of Huntsville laughs about how young she and her husband, Rob, looked 30 years ago when they were married by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in a massive ceremony with more than 2,000 other couples in Madison Square Garden. People have a lot of misconceptions about Moon's Unification Church, Preece says. (Kay Campbell | kcampbell@al.com)

Your connection:When I was 20 years old, the Rev. Moon changed my life by introducing me to a loving God through his teachings and life example.

He taught us to love God, love people, build strong, loving families and live unselfish lives, using our gifts and resources to make a difference in ending the suffering in this world.

The Rev. Moon totally dedicated every single day of his life to living these principles, many times sleeping only a few hours at night.

At the ceremony, I cried many tears and experienced deep repentance for not living these ideals as best I could while the Rev. Moon was still alive.

I determined to rededicate myself to practicing the principles more diligently and to sharing these ideals with others upon my return home to Huntsville.

For a story that ran on Sept. 7 that includes more of Preece's memories of her own wedding day and her time as a fulltime volunteer with the church, click here. For Kay Campbell's personal column about remembering the Moonies and then coming to know them, click here.

Contact Kay Campbell, religion reporter at The Huntsville Times, at kcampbell@al.com to share your experience of pilgrimage or conference travel.